Thursday, March 31, 2011

We have been so lucky to have so many brides tell us their story and share their special day with us! Today, we bring you Janelle's story! On November 6th, 2010 she married her husband Christopher. Janelle chose Bonny Bliss style 2011

Janelle shared with us, "One of the most exciting parts of wedding planning was the search for the dress. The very first gown I tried on was a Bonny gown. It took a little while to choose but I finally decided on style 2011 from the Bliss collection. I fell in love with the silk flowers and beading all over the dress and train. It also had a huge skirt that was so much fun to twirl in! It was exciting to find a line of dresses that had sleeves yet remained modern and elegant!"

Your smile that day says it all, Janelle! Congratulations to you both!!!

We have been waiting for the day!! We are going to announce which picture will be our Fall 2011 Wedding Gown Catalog cover, TOMORROW!! We can feel the excitement in the air (we are so ready to get this baby to printer so we can start rolling out the catalogs to our stores!)

Have you made your choice? We have loved reading your comments! We have two stand out favorites so far...are they yours? Make your voice heard! Just one last day!!!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Our real bride today is Michelle! On November 20, 2010 Michelle and Cole tied the knot! Michelle chose style 927 from the Bonny Classic Collection as her wedding gown. Congratulations to both of you! We wish you many years of happiness, joy and beauty!

Beaded straps fall into the shirred V bodice. The shirred empire waist is highlighted by a center cluster of beading. The skirt and extends to the chapel train that is decorated by scattered appliqués.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Clarissa and Clarence were married on a beautiful southern California day! Clarissa chose Unforgettable style 1818 as her wedding gown! What a gorgeous bride...don't you agree? You looked absolutely radiant Clarissa! Thank you for sharing your special day with us! We wish you both all the happiness as you start your life together!!

Style 1818 is made from French Taffeta. This sleeveless gown has lace that falls down the shoulder strap along the V-shaped neckline. The lace continues across the bodice into the billowing skirt full of tucks and gathers that continue around to the semi-cathedral train. The back is fitted with lace up ties.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Silver is timeless at weddings. It pairs well with so many accent colors. We are inspired by the color (we even love our silver wedding gowns....like style 020 and style 937). So, today, we wanted to show off one of our popular gowns for moms (or maids!). We have heard a lot of buzz about this neckline being really popular right now and it is pretty flattering! The 3/4 sleeve is pretty high up on wish lists as well. The gown centered around our inspiration is style 7029. It is a tip of the shoulder dress with pleated elbow length sleeves. Pleats drape across the bodice. The circular cut skirt has a soft flowing hem. The suggested retail price on this gown is $175.00

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

We have been working on our Fall 2011 Catalog and we want your help! Here's the deal - we have narrowed down the choices and we are leaving it up to you, our friends and fans, to tell us your favorite! This contest will run for 7 days and we will announce the winner on April 1st!

So what are the qualifications to vote? Pretty easy! You just need to be:

A follower of our Bonny Blog -or-

A friend on Facebook

The winner will get a special prize (valued at $100) and bragging rights for choosing our Fall 2011 catalog cover gown!

Leave a comment and your email address so we can contact you if you are the winner!

Friday, March 18, 2011

We are so excited about the bridal show coming up tomorrow at Ann's Classic Affairs in Perris, CA! We hope that we are going to see all of our Southern California brides there.

Local radio station KATY 101.3 will be broadcasting LIVE for the event! Brides attending are in for a special treat: goodie bags, a chance to win a Palm Springs getaway and if you place your order for any bridal gown at the event - a free veil!! Everyone will get to indulge in chocolate and caramel fountains (YUM!) and we will have our lead designer on hand during the fashion show to answer any questions you may have! Southern California brides are getting a unique opportunity to preview our brand new Fall 2011 Collection!! This is a one day event: tomorrow (Saturday the 19th of March) from 10am - 2pm! See you there!

Let's take a moment to image a beautiful beach, an arch in the sand...barefoot bride walking down an aisle of sand. Sounds amazing, right? Well, this could be your wedding! Destination weddings are still a huge trend - and why not? Honeymoon and wedding, all in one! We have the perfect gowns for destination weddings; soft flowing Chiffon blend perfectly with a beach setting!

We are in love with the stones on style 105 from the Bonny Collection. The milky color of the stones fit into a shell-like concept and the iridescent beading would pick up on blue hues of the ocean

Ruffled skirts add shape that creates a wider silhouettes - this type of dress would be perfect for the tall, thin figures. Horizontal lines tend to make petite brides smaller and shorter and these types of ruffled skirts tend to make the curvy bride appear wider.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

This year’s Awards programme attracted a higher-than-ever number of entries in its 16 categories that cover both retailer and supplier awards, as well as the key student designer award that itself pulled in more than 300 entries from young hopefuls across the country. On-schedule deliveries, customer service and stockist support are part of the equation in shortlisting for the supplier awards, while shop design, marketing and promotion, supplier support and meeting agreed payment terms will influence entries in the retailer categories. This year, votes for The Bridal Designer of the Year title were cast by visitors at the London and Birmingham National Wedding Shows in the autumn as were votes for the hotly-contended Wedding Dress of the Year award. In some categories, because the standard of entries was so high, we have for the first time increased the number of finalists. Bonny Bridal was nominated in the Best Plus-size Collection along with:

Callista

Sincerity Plus

Sonsie by Veromia

Special Day

White Rose

Over the years, the Bridal Buyer Awards have grown in stature and are widely-acknowledged as the most important and authoritative awards in the industry today. Judged by panels of experts, entries are meticulously assessed - to reach the shortlist entrants must meet rigid criteria; to become a finalist is a considerable achievement.

In a glitzy award ceremony in Harrogate this week, Bonny Bridal, scooped up the Best Plus-size Collection Award. A company spokesperson said: “We are over the moon to win this award! Design, style and fit are absolutely important to us when we create gowns for this very important collection. We make sure that the brides who try on and eventually purchase an Unforgettable wedding gown know that they are getting a gown that is made just for the curvy shape of a woman. Winning this award just shows you that our hard work is paying off! We are in touch with our brides - and we love making them feel like they are the most beautiful bride on their big day! We share this award with all our partner stores who have gowns for plus size brides to try on and with all our Unforgettable brides....because they are the big winners! Thank you all so very much for this prestigious award. We promise to work even harder this coming year for you!"

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Mardi Gras is music, parades, picnics, floats, majestic balls... and pretty much just one big holiday in New Orleans! Everyone is wearing purple, green, and gold! To honor this party, we created this inspiring design board:

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Weddings are full of timelines. What exactly is a timeline? It's basically a schedule. People should never lose sight of what the wedding is about, as a whole, but, to pull off this huge celebration, everything is broken down into timelines. And EVERYONE involved in a wedding has a timeline! How far out to book the church, which pastors are available, when do you start looking for a reception venue, when can all the people from out of state come, where are they going to stay, book a florist, plan the honeymoon (sheesh...right now sounds like we all need a break - right?) Oh no no...you have to order THE gown! Oh, here we go. Our most asked question: When should I order my gown? Well, we are going to give you this answer! And, because you are on a timeline right now, we will try our best to be brief.... ha.ha.

You walk into a bridal salon, you try on the dress and everyone agrees "It's the one!" The sales lady says, "Great! Let's get that order placed today." You are asking yourself, "Why, we have so much time!" But do you? Typically, a special order gown (meaning, you are not getting a dress that 100 other brides tried on, that has been hanging in their store for months and months and hopefully hasn't been transported from store-to-store :::cough David's::::). Your special order gown typically would take 12 weeks (that's 3 months) to get from our factory to the store. The 12 week time period given to stores is an ESTIMATE! Because of other people's timeline things can go haywire too. See? Everyone has a timeline! So, let's just keep at our 12 week timeline - because the rush timeline is another post! Your gown could ship by air or by boat...it is traveling a long way to make it to you. It gets here and then it has to go through customs. Have you ever gone through customs? Well, then you understand THAT timeline. Once it is released from customs, it heads over to a trucking company that is going to deliver it to us, on...you guessed it....their timeline! Now that it is in our procession...it's on our timeline. We already know what YOUR timeline is so we make sure it is inspected here, logged into our inventory and then packaged to head off to your store. Typically, it is going to go via ground method and just for fun and giggles we are going to say you live on the East Coast (because we are on the West). Have you ever driven cross country? Wait, let me rephrase that - have you ever driven cross country in a big truck going about 40 miles an hour hauling 1000's of pounds of packages? No? Me either. I am just assuming they can travel at about 40 miles an hour....I know they aren't going 75 mph! So, THEIR timeline is 7 - 10 days to get from our location to your store. Your beautiful dress arrives but she has to be unpacked, fluffed (poor thing has been scrunched in a box for a long time now!) and steamed out to perfection before you get to see her. Now, we are back to the stores timeline. If you have never steamed a dress ooohh booyyy. Let me tell you, it is HARD and takes a LONG time! Whew! Are you already exhausted? I am. But...we're not done!! Oh, no, no, no! Now your dress needs alterations for a perfect fit! Your FIRST FITTING will be to pin it and make it right just for you. Your SECOND FITTING will be able to make sure that everything from the first fitting was done (and is perfect) so hopefully your second fitting is your last fitting but, sometimes you may need a THIRD and FINAL fitting! Whew....ok seriously. COFFEE??

Now, times have changed a bit. I kept using the word "typically" when I talked about a 12 week process. That is no longer the case today. Global issues effect everyone - not just in our country - in ALL countries. There are many reasons for the change in timelines, honestly everyone's timeline has changed! Airlines started letting less packages on board (because of rising fuel costs), the ships were getting too much cargo from what the airlines were not taking and there are lot's of other reasons! Today, our ESTIMATED ship times from order date to store is more like 14 weeks but, to be honest we are comfortable with at least 16 weeks! There is still a rush service.

We hope that by creating this very important post you will understand now, why when you visit a salon and they tell you it's best to order now....it's the truth! You should order AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! You should give yourself the time to enjoy your dress, get your alterations, have fun trying on veils and jewels with her! Trust us, you will be thanking yourself later when you do not have to start stressing out wondering, "Where is my dress?!" If you plan ahead in your timeline, your dress will be here in plenty of time - safe and sound - breathing in her garment bag (all fluffed and pressed!) just waiting for you to slip in and walk down the aisle! :)

So, the moral of this long post? Just remember two things: Our most asked question: "When should I order my gown?" and our second most asked question: "Where is my dress?!" If you listen to our answer on the first....you won't ever have to ask the second!! ;)